Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 120.djvu/2324

 PUBLIC LAW 109–364—OCT. 17, 2006

120 STAT. 2293

(6) Various alternative means of purchasing pharmaceutical agents more efficiently for availability under the program. (7) The composition and decision-making processes of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. (8) The composition of the Beneficiary Advisory Panel and its history as an advisory panel under the program (including the frequency of the acceptance of its recommendations by the Secretary of Defense). (9) Quality assurance mechanisms under the program. (10) The role of the program in support of the disease and chronic care management programs of the Department of Defense. (11) Mechanisms for customer service and customer feedback under the program. (12) Beneficiary satisfaction with the program. (c) REPORT.—Not later than nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the study required by subsection (a). The report shall include such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for legislative or administrative action to improve the Department of Defense pharmacy benefits program in light of the study. SEC. 719. REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MEDICAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

(a) REPORT REQUIRED.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on actions taken in response to the recommendations of the July 2001 report of the Department of Defense Healthcare Quality Initiatives Review Panel. (2) MATTERS COVERED.—The report shall address the status of actions concerning each of the Panel’s general and specific recommendations, including the amount of resources allocated by fiscal year to implement each recommendation. In any instance in which no action has been taken, justification for such inaction shall be provided in the report. (b) REVIEW REQUIRED.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, or another similarly qualified independent academic medical organization, for the purpose of conducting an independent review of the Department of Defense medical quality improvement program. (2) ELEMENTS.—The review required pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) An assessment of the methods used by the Department of Defense to monitor medical quality in services provided in military hospitals and clinics and in services provided in civilian hospitals and providers under the military health care system. (B) An assessment of the transparency and public reporting mechanisms of the Department on medical quality.

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